First Impressions / One-Punch Man

“The Ultimate Disciple”


「至高の弟子」 (Shikou no Deshi)

The Meteor & The Suffering of Z-City:

These past few episodes have felt much more like the One-Punch Man I was initially hoping for, devastating meteors and all. The introduction of the Hero Association has injected so much more life and variety into the series, and from what I’ve heard the stalker points are adding up as well. Will it match early expectations? Perhaps not, but it will by no means be a failure. I think, rightfully so, plenty of people weren’t sure how this was going to turn out after the first four episodes, when it appeared it was already stagnating. But my expectations were proven wrong, and here we are now.

The first half of this episode was definitely the more impactful and memorable half. Meteors are fun, and from the first few minutes of this episode I was thinking to myself: ‘I can’t wait for Saitama to save the day once again.’ And of course, that’s what happened. It’s predictable, but it does feel good for such a simple guy to deliver the final blow. However, we did get to meet some more S-Ranks along the way. Silver Fang “Bang” (Yamaji Kazuhiro) is your typical badass old guy. His design feels very old-school, and his wise words provided an appreciated perspective on the superhero industry as a whole. He understands what it means to be a hero – being the 3rd strongest – so I hope we get to see him properly in action in the near future. The other S-Rank we meet is Bofoy “Metal Knight” (Genda Tessyo), who doesn’t appear in person, but manages to test his own missiles while he can. Again, we’re seeing different perspectives within the top class of the Hero Association – some want to save the world, others are in it for their own gain and growth. By the end, however, Saitama’s epic one punch is the highlight of the episode. Genos’s attempts looked fantastic, but they didn’t quite make a dent compared to his mentor, who smashed it into a hundred pieces, causing a meteor shower to rain over the city…

Saitama the Hero:

After seven episodes, Saitama is finally getting some recognition, now being bumped up to C-5 after playing a part in saving Z-City. Of course, we know it was almost entirely his own effort that saved the day, but the media and the association assume that the S-ranks were the ones who did most of the work. If that weren’t the case, he’d likely be way up at Genos’s rank right now, but that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? However, with partial credit comes the blame for what followed. The mini meteors raining down on the city were hilarious, but at the same I was left thinking that something so devastating being played for a joke was an odd choice. Thankfully, the entire latter part of this episode was focused on the repercussions of his actions and the blame that was thrown at him as a result of the damage.

At the end of it all, it’s quite silly. The tanktop brothers are clearly more interested in taking revenge on someone who bumped down their own rank as opposed to tackling the issue at hand. Conveniently, no one even died, so no one really has any right to complain. But they do so anyway, and a mini fight breaks out. It’s satisfying to see Saitama effortlessly destroy them, before going off on a rant to the civilians watching over him. Unfortunately, what should have been a powerful moment ended up rather jarring, for me at least.

I’ve not had an issue with Furukawa Makoto’s voice acting up until this point – if anything, I’ve really dug what the voice he’s given Saitama – yet when he started that high-pitched screaming I was taken aback. It sounded completely different from what we’ve heard so far and was more like a shrill than anything else. Admittedly, I’m not an avid lover of seiyuus, except for whenever they deliver a phenomenal performance, but this one stood out for the all the wrong reasons.

Overview – What’s Next?:

Aside from the questionable voice acting at the end, this was another great episode. At this point it seems like One-Punch Man has found its feet, as we appear to be adapting the material that best shows off what makes this so enjoyable. Saitama is still a strong lead (in more ways than one), and I’ll be keen to see how he deals with now being recognised, after getting no credit for his previous efforts. He’s still got a way to go before he breaks into the top ranks, but it’s a journey I’m excited to continue watching.

60 Comments

  1. https://randomc.net/image/One-Punch%20Man/One-Punch%20Man%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
    He didn’t do anything wrong.

    https://randomc.net/image/One-Punch%20Man/One-Punch%20Man%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2021.jpg
    Because he’s the hero Z-City deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll mock him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a normal guy. A hero-for-fun…….

    https://randomc.net/image/One-Punch%20Man/One-Punch%20Man%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
    A Bald Knight.

    OnePunch_Guy
    Reply

    1. Manga has very strange way of prolonging chapters (like for example sea-king arc has 9 chapters, but like 4 of them are just perspective of what other characters were doing while the assault was going on) anime so far hasn’t used that technique once, there’s a slight chance they spend two episodes on it.

      Boros arc will take 2 episodes for sure tho.

      Dwarg
      Reply

    3. According to sources, the Sea King arc will be
      Show Spoiler ▼

      It has also been revealed that the Prophecy arc will come immediately after Sea King arc. Leaving it with a big bang for this season’s end

      chioneicedyrken
      Reply

  3. Thing is, I don’t think Saitama’s rant was to be taken completely seriously, considering his expressions get more ridiculous as he continues to rant (just look at your third-last screen cap, Samu). I think it was it supposed in line with the gag that everyone who hasn’t seen in action (I don’t really count stopping the tank-top guys as “seeing Saitama in action”) can’t take him seriously because of how he looks- and in this case, sounds. I’d put some blame on on whoever was on working on the storyboard. If Saitama was drawn similarly during that scene in the source material, it could be an instance of poor comedic timing (though I’m more inclined to believe the former). I agree with you that that did feel out of place- OPM likes to make fun of its characters, but to do so in that manner seems a tad cynical and mean-spirited. I get the feeling Furukawa was just following what the visuals told him.

    N
    Reply

    1. You could be right about that, but even if it wasn’t to be taken seriously, I still think the voice acting alone was enough of a turn off. The scene itself wasn’t terrible by any means… just a bit grating on the ears.

      Samu
      Reply

    1. Yeah, I felt more “anger” in the manga. Like Saitama trying to divert their blame onto him rather than it being a comedic outburst. Of which Genos comes in to stop Saitama from continuing to hurt himself knowing how much Saitama wants to be recognised

      chioneicedyrken
      Reply

    2. Per the staff, this series doesn’t have quite the bottomless budget we assumed. It’s fairly average, as a matter of fact. It just looks expensive because it’s a labor of love by a group of alpha animators at the tops of their games. Situations like the glossing over of MK’s entry (the aforementioned flipbook) illustrate this. To do the original justice, it would have required a completely mobile background to emulate the rotational pans. That would have been prohibitively expensive. CG would have been able to do it, but it would have been obvious CG.

      quigonkenny
      Reply

  6. So we get a ton of brand new characters with mysterious motivations… and the next episode has absolutely nothing to do with any of them. … in a show that’s only 12 episodes long. Okay.

    starss
    Reply

    1. Don’t feel too badly. Metal Knight’s motivation is known only to Metal Knight, and perhaps Drive Knight. Bang is pretty much straight forward. He really doesn’t have any ulterior motive.

      BigFire
      Reply

    2. Their introduction was put in just to show how different people make use of the situation for their own expenses in light of the Hero Association. They may not appear again, but their words tell much about the “cruelty” and “ignorance” or maybe “realism” to people’s motivation in such a world

      chioneicedyrken
      Reply

    3. Unfortunately, that’s the curse with getting a 1-cour adaptation of an ongoing (shonen) manga. We will likely get many more characters introduced but not utilised in this adaptation, which is a shame, but it is to be expected. At least we can read the manga and see what they get up to later on!

      Samu
      Reply

      1. I think mumen rider is meant to serve as a contrast to saitama. He’s someone with almost zero physical traits but his heart is with the people and the people are for him just like a typical hero is depicted.

        Saitama on the other hand has the ability to physically dominate everything thrown at him, but his mentality has clearly been shown that he doesn’t care all that much about the people he’s supposedly fighting for

        Fate/animu
        Reply

  11. I might be in the minority here but I found the second half the more interesting than the first. I thought the depiction of the Tiger brothers and Metal guy show what the Heroe agency is really about and I like how Saitama handled the crowd…That bit had me griped and i like his speech.

    Kurik
    Reply

    1. The Hero Association concept is very interesting, that’s for sure, but here it’s still raw, the Tank Top brothers are one-dimensional strawmen and Saitama’s rant could have been handled better. The concept (and its depiction) becomes more polished the more the series advances. It’s a pity we won’t see King’s and Fubuki’s arcs in this season.

      Mistic
      Reply

      1. I agree with your statement that they were one dimensional, when I was reading the manga, I had hoped that at least a kid would stand up for Saitama in the crowds, but no one did :\ It’s like they are purposely pushing him down to make his rise more grand and impactful

        chioneicedyrken
        Reply

    1. As mentioned previously, Z-city is the place most infested with monsters. The only people living there are those who are looking for cheap rent or can’t go elsewhere. One of the reasons why not many S-class heroes came could also be attributed to the fact that Z-city was a “disposable” city, and that no one really cares about it. The cities, in a way, face discrimination. Z-city only gets attention because most monsters come from there.

      chioneicedyrken
      Reply

  15. Wasn’t Z-city practically a ghost town last episode? The Z-city inhabitants seem to inhabit a special quantum wave state; when it’s funny for them to be there, or for drama, they collapse the wave function and exist again. But then when meteors are showering the city, they vanish so that it’s mostly just collateral building damage.

    Probably the only way to make a comedy superhero show wherein the city gets destroyed every other episode.

    Guile
    Reply

    1. I think everyone got that from NGE. Civilians (sans Sakura Suzuhara) never seem to get hurt. Until they all die at the end. And even then, they get revived -_-
      And the cleanup of Angel corpses always seem illogically fast.

      Petit Orenji
      Reply

    2. Z-city blocks around Saitama’s apartment are a ghost town.
      Other places are populated.

      Show Spoiler ▼

      5ofSpades
      Reply

  17. I really wanted to smash those Tank Top brothers in the chin. Thankfully they got greedy with their attempted public execution and Saitama showed them who’s on top. I’ll curse the day any of those two make it pass B-rank.

    Gekokujou
    Reply

  19. Yeah, the second half could of been done a bit better, I remember that scene was kind of powerful in the manga. I feel like it was an important revelation of Saitama’s character. He wants to be a hero, but for his own sake and reason, and not for others. If his voice actor had a more angry and commanding tone when ranting to others (which I was expecting), I think it may have hit a little harder, but with that squeaky tone, it felt more like a comedic moment. :/

    Still, animation is fresh as always, and that soundtrack during Geno’s attempt to fight the meteor was really engaging, even though I knew he would fail and Saitama will come rescue everyone.

    ChromeNova
    Reply

  20. This anime is awesome to watch because the animation is just the best I’ve ever seen in a TV series (hell, it’s on par with the best anime movies out there).

    HOWEVER, I’m wacthing this for the animation and comedy… I feel nothing about the characters and plot… They are just meh.

    André
    Reply

  23. I can feel you bro.
    Actually, I really like on how Saitama voice actor did his job in the first episode. He sounded cool. I wish he did the same thing with the rant or at least use that serious voice when he met sonic in episode #6.

    yukishina
    Reply

    1. I think Saitama sounded like that in his rant was because he wasn’t really in his serious mode. He was entering ‘Supermarket Too-Late-To-Snatch-Discount-Bento’ rant mode.

      Mincemaker
      Reply

  24. The way sensei just yells at everyone felt like watching an old lady at a supermarket argueing for a lower price with a fail argument xD even though what he said made sense, but the voice had me laughing xD

    Mi-chan
    Reply

  25. The rant was spot on for me since it’s more like an annoyed rant rather than him being badass like in the dream sequence first episode.
    Saitama’s voice actor is great since he sounds like an average person ranting.

    arewana
    Reply

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